Cambodia – moving on

How can a country/community move on from the Khmer Rouge period when approximately a quarter of the population died. The persecutors and persecuted now live side by side peacefully, but still try to find an the answer to who is responsible – everyone says ‘I was following orders’. With only one person convicted, ‘Duch’, and another four under judicial investigation as part of the ‘Cambodia Tribunal’ a key part of the process to reconcile the past. Questions are still asked why more of the Khmer Rouge have not been prosecuted, since 30 years has pasted. In 1997, Cambodia established a Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force to create a legal and judicial structure to try the remaining leaders but with limited funding available, foreign donor countries have had to assist.

My question is ‘At what point is standing up against the momentum of death more important than following orders because of the safety of your family or yourself?’ Easy to ask but much harder to answer.

Today, the Cambodian children visit S-21 and Killing field memorials so they can understand the horrific past and hope it will never happen again.